Let's take our Bibles once again
and turn with me to the Gospel according to John, chapter 18.
John 18. The Lord Jesus Christ is in the garden. Judas has now come with a band
of men, four or five hundred soldiers and dignitaries. And the Lord asked them when they approached
Him, asked them the first time, in verse 4, in verse 4, And they answered, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus saith unto them, I
Am. I said last week that He is in
italics there at I Am. He's God. Here, they're standing
before God. They're standing before God. And the Scripture said when they
Heard those words, he fell backward, verse 6, fell
to the ground. And obviously unaffected, the Lord asked him
again, Whom seek you? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.
Verse 8, he said, I told you that I am. If therefore you seek
me, let these go their way." Peter took a sword, smoked the
high priest's ear, cut off his ear, his name was Malchus, and
the Lord told Peter to put his sword up. In verse 11 he said,
the cup, the cup of suffering, the cup of being made sin, actually
being made what his people are. Dying for them, he said in verse
11, the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
In the Gospel of Luke 22.51 it says he healed that high priest's
servants here. And now verses 12, 13, 14 this
morning, then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews
took Jesus and bound him. All the evidence of an unregenerate
heart, that there's no difference in this A group of people right
here, there's no difference, them and us, outside of the grace
of God. We are all as an unclean thing. All of our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. No bragging. They heard the truth. They heard Him say, I am. Now I will admit, we see through
a glass darkly, don't we? We know in part, we prophesy
in part, nobody knows everything. The Lord Jesus Christ is wisdom,
He's wealth. But here we are, we're given
grace according to the measure of God's good pleasure. There's
some things that God teaches, We all believe the gospel, but
nobody knows everything. But I'll tell you one thing you
do know, you that believe. When He answered them when He
said, I am, I'll tell you this, for a believer, their heart rejoices
in that. Not as you wish it would, not
as it shall, but you do rejoice, you do love Him. Peter said,
Lord, You know all things. You know I love You. But they
heard the God of all grace, the God of
all mercy, the God of all power. They heard God, just and holy
God. They heard with this ear, they
heard Him say who He is. I am. And without the Holy Spirit's
revelation and the giving of a new heart and causing dead,
dry bones to live, what they did, they were like
a beast that's out beholding a beautiful, gorgeous sunset. No effect. Nothing. Nothing. The Scripture says in
verse 12, And the captain officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound
Him. They bound Him. They bound Him
who could have called down the host of heaven. They bound him. Matthew 26, 53, Our Lord said,
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall
presently give me more than twelve legions of angels. Seventy-two
thousand angels. Seventy-two thousand. One angel. One angel. I remember that account
where the army of the Syrians, He just killed one angel. 72,000 angels. But His hour has
now come. His hour has come. And for this
purpose He came into this world. The Father's will must be done. All that the Father has given
Him, that's what we just quoted just a moment ago. He said, of
all that the Father hath given Me, sent Me that that which he
hath given me, I'm sorry, let me read that again. And this
is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day." The Scripture says they bound him. He gave himself to them. Did
he find himself held faster than he could get away? The One who has all power? The
One who speaks everything into existence? The One who upholds
all things by the Word of His power? The One by whom all things
consist? They can bind Him? No, I tell
you, He was bound by love. He was bound by His Father's
will. He was bound by His good pleasure. He was bound according to God's
eternal covenant of grace to save His people. They would take
in the Old Testament, they would bind that animal, bind him to
that altar, bind him, you know, to hold him there. To hold him
there. Going to hold that animal there,
you know. Isaac was bound to that altar
that they had built before his daddy raised that knife. He was
bound. Here is the type fulfilled. Bound him like the pictures in
the Old Testament. They bound him, but I'm telling
you, this was his meat. This was his joy. This was his
pleasure. His bride must be redeemed. The law must be honored. God's
justice must be satisfied. All Scripture must be fulfilled. They bound him, he gave himself
to them. He gave himself. Verse 13, 14,
They led him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas,
which was the high priest that same year. Now Caiaphas was he
which gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one
man should die for the people. Now again, in these two verses,
I'll be brief. These two verses right here,
we see the evidence. First, we see the evidence of
an unmoved, unregenerate heart, but oh how we see the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ as the willing servant, the willing
sacrifice. Let's look at that continued
evidence of that unregenerate heart and the total disregard
for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. They led him away, like
a sheep to the slaughter, that's what Isaiah 53, 7 says. They led him away to Annas first,
for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that
same year. Now, they did what they did according
to the law. The priest was to look at the
offering, to make sure the offering was without spot, without blemish. They couldn't find anything that
he had done wrong. They just brought him to Annas
and sent him to Caiaphas and sent him back to Annas and sent
him to Pilate. Finally, Pilate, under the inspiration
of God's Spirit, actually verbalized the words. What did he say? I
find no fault in him. I find no fault in him. You take
him, I don't find any fault. But they sent him to, you know,
the Scripture says, let him away to Annas first, father-in-law,
to Caiaphas, the high priest that same year. Now, who was
Annas? Who was Annas? Well, Luke 3-2
revealed that he was the high priest along with Caiaphas. Now, here's the amazing thing
about this. The problem is that there was
actually one high priest. And that high priest was a picture,
he was a type, a figure, of the high priest himself, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And what they did, they led the
Lord to Annas, who had been It had gotten to a point to where
they were electing. They were getting a new one. It had degenerated to such a
state that they kept saying that they were adhering to the law
of God, but they were making up the rules as they go. had been the high priest. Caiaphas,
the scripture says, he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high
priest that same year. Annas had been the high priest.
Now Caiaphas was the high priest, but it was senior to Annas first
because, well, he got some seniority. The Old Testament high priest
was priest until he died. That was the law. That was law. Hebrews 7.23, and they truly
were many priests because they were not suffered to continue.
Why? Why? Because they decided that
maybe someone else ought to be elected. I'm getting tired. I'm
going to retire. No, by reason of death. The high
priest was the high priest until he died. Now listen to this. He ever liveth. He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. I think about that, you know,
you read the account. I don't have this in my notes
right here, so I'm just going to go from memory. The cities
of refuge. Go back and read the account.
And if someone, unawares, they didn't mean to, it was accidental,
they didn't plan it, it wasn't premeditated, somebody did something,
they killed somebody else, axe handle slipped off, hit them,
killed them, they could flee to the city of refuge and find
refuge there. And a case was heard and the
avenger of blood that would have come after him, We're going to
settle this thing." But the avenger of blood, you know, couldn't
get him as long as he was in that city of refuge. He was to
stay there, stay there and have refuge until the high priest
died. How comforting that our high
priest ever liveth. he ever lived. He who has eternally
loved his people, the one who died, the one who lived and died,
buried, rose again, ascended as the forerunner and as the
great high priest of his people, the one who intercedes, the one
that the Father always hears, And His people in Him, represented
by Him, He who ever liveth intercedes. And I can tell you this, He ever
liveth, we ever liveth in Him. Well, here we are. We find that
Annas being approached. Caiaphas is the high priest that
year, Annas is approached. But here is the great Melchizedek. They call themselves high priest.
They had that position for a year, two years, whatever, vote, get
somebody else in there. Here is the true Melchizedek.
Here is the high priest himself standing before giving himself
over to the mockery, the mockery, now, of the type and the pictures. Scripture sets forth concerning
that high priest, Melchizedek, here's what it says, Hebrews
7.3, without father, without mother, without descent, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto
the Son of God, He abideth a priest continually. Oh, the settledness,
the comfort of knowing our priest ever liveth. The Old Testament
priest died and they were men. They were just men. Hebrews 7,
24 says, but this man, but this man. The man made like unto his
brethren. The man who made himself of no
reputation, one who humbled himself, took upon him the form of sinful
flesh without sin. Here is the mediator. Here is
God-man. Here one that touches both. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost, that is evermore, that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."
This mob did not capture him. He gave himself willingly into
their hands. He is God's Lamb. God will provide Himself a Lamb. God will provide Himself a Lamb.
God Himself is the Lamb. He would suffer and die according
to the eternal counsel and will of God. Truly, in closing, was expedient. Verse 14. It was
expedient. Caiaphas was he that gave counsel
to the Jews. He spoke that by the Spirit of
God. It was expedient. It was necessary. It was of the
utmost. It was expedient that one man, one man should
die for the people by one man's By one man's disobedience, many
were made sinners. By one man's obedience. He was obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. How is his sheep going to go
free? How is God going to be just and
justify a sinner? God's just. How? The obedient
Lamb of God. It was expedient. I realize this. Caiaphas spoke those words. He spoke those words. But the
Spirit of God moved on that man to give evidence and credence
and honor and glory and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. He
praised Him. He praised Him. Even the wrath
of man, the Scripture says, shall praise thee. He praised the one
that in his heart he hated. He hated. Let's get rid of him. If this man dies, then the nation
will go free. Never a truer statement made
spiritually. It was expedient that one man
The people of God's choosing were going to go free. They took
Him, bound Him, and He set His face like a flint, and He's going
to the cross. The Father had given Him a people,
and the Son loved them. And I said, live for them, died
for them, buried with them, raised with Him, ascended with Him. And now here is our forerunner. going to the cross, and He's
going to suffer and die for His sheep as their representative
and as their substitute. And I'm telling you, very soon,
dear believers, very soon, this same Jesus, this same Christ,
He's coming back. And we look for Him. And he who
suffered and died shall receive us unto himself." Father, John
17, 24. I will. And His will is going
to be done. He never asked anything apart
from the Father's will. I and the Father are one. If
you want to know what the Father's will was, the Holy Spirit's will,
the Son's will, listen to this prayer. Father, I will. I will. All that You've given me, be
with me. where I am, that they may behold my glory, the glory
that you've given me, from before the foundation of the world,
because you love me always. We try to imagine being with
Him. We can't do it, can we? Eye hath
not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath entered into the
heart of man those things that God has prepared for them that
love Him. But I can tell you this, All his sheep are going
to be there. They bound him. He gave themselves. They led him. He went as a sheep
to the slaughter. Took him to this forest of a
high priest. Sent him over to Caiaphas and
sent him to Pilate. They never found anything wrong.
They never found any fault in him. He was the spotless Lamb. No spot, no blemish. And He satisfied
God. He satisfied God's justice. He
satisfied the law's demand for justice. And Almighty God, now,
who is just, is the Savior of His people. Lord, have mercy
upon us today for Christ's sake.